Civitatula
by Nytewing
Summary: Arkham City AU in which Tim runs into some trouble after helping Batman with the League of Assassins. Nightwing, having taken care of the Protocol 9 Tyger guards at Wayne Manor enters Arkham City to rescue him with a reluctant ally by his side. Brotherly bonding ensues.


Pairings: None

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Civitatula Part 1

Darkness. For the last eternity all he knew was the all encompassing black. He was sure he had a body because he hurt all over, sharp stabs of agony that grounded him in what was left of reality. But beyond that he had no way of know where he was or how he had come to be there. Vaguely he thought that he should tell someone he needed help. But the thought was fleeting and danced away before he could grasp it. Another jolt of pain from what might have been his leg sent him spiraling deeper into the black and he panted trying to regain the control he knew he must have.

_Please_, he thought, or maybe he whispered it. The only thing he could feel for sure from his throat was the grating agony that was the aftermath of screams. _Please, somebody help me_.

But no one answered his plea.

He closed his eyes against the darkness and knew no more.

* * *

Richard Grayson stood in the armory of his childhood home, looking down at the dozens of unconscious forms sprawled around him. He stretched his aching body, groaning when his back wrenched painfully. Though his spandex made it though the fight with only a few gashes (those knives were sharp!) he dreaded turning the uniform over to Alfred. The glare the elderly Brit always bestowed upon him when presented with another destroyed uniform never failed to make him feel like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

Almost absently the young hero fingered one of the larger gashes, prodding at the cut beneath. Most of the others had already stopped bleeding but this one still soldiered on. Dick winced; add another offense to the tally from which Alfred would be drawing his lecture. He kicked out at one of the men, eliciting a soft groan from the crumpled thug. Dick felt a small smile tug at his mouth. Whoever sent these guys to harass Alfred was in for a big surprise when they called to check in.

He made one last check that each man was secured, straightened his gauntlets, and left the armory. Five minutes of work had the six from the main entrance hall moved into the same room as the rest and Dick made his way down to the cave.

He found Alfred sitting where he had been when they heard the sounds of someone breaking in upstairs less than an hour ago.

"Any news?" Dick asked. He pulled off his domino mask and set it on the consol.

"Some; Miss Oracle just called," Alfred tutted when he saw the state of the young man next to him. He picked up the silver tray of medical equipment sitting just to his left. Dick suppressed a laugh. Alfred knew him too well. The butler set to work wiping an antiseptic cloth over the cut that still bleed and pulling pre-threaded needle from his bag. "She says that Batman has made contact with one of Ra's al Ghul's followers. He ran into a spot of trouble, but it appears Robin arrived just in time to extricate him from the situation."

A large block of ice dropped into Dick stomach. "Robin?" he breathed the question, almost afraid to speak it at a normal volume. "Tim's in there?"

Alfred stopped his ministrations to look Dick in the eye. "Yes, he entered Arkham City three hours ago to stop a shipment of weapons from reaching the Joker."

Dick jerked away and began pacing. "Dammit!" he snarled, running one hand though his hair. The cut Alfred had been working on split open and began bleeding again. Dick ignored it. He spun to the console and jabbed at the communications array.

"Robin!" He snapped, "Robin, answer me."

His only answer was crackling static.

Alfred watched as Dick continued to try and reach his younger brother in all but blood. He quietly put away the first aid materials and instead pulled a fresh costume out. If Nightwing was going to enter that hell-hole he needed to be properly clothed.

Finally Dick gave up his efforts with a frustrated huff. He ran his hand through his hair.

"I can't raise him," he muttered, "Alfred."

Alfred looked up from the costume he was preparing.

"You knew he was going?"

Alfred inclined his head, "I did." His tone of voice said he felt no remorse for his actions.

But Dick did not blame him. He knew that no matter what, if Tim set his mind to doing something he would do it. Even if that something was enter the highly fortified prison city and very likely get himself killed. He was just grateful the boy had told Alfred, otherwise they might not have known he was in trouble for far longer.

"Good," he pulled up the list of files on the Bat-computer. "Show me his plans."

Forty minutes later Nightwing was swinging above the streets of Gotham, scanning the rooftops for a flash of red. He hated to even contemplate asking _him _for help but no one else was available and this was a family matter. He just hoped the Red Hood would see it that way.

Oracle informed him that Red Hood had been working on tracking some drug traffickers who were refusing to follow his orders about selling to kids. Then, she got flustered and said something about identity thieves and told him she'd call back later. Dick assumed it had to do with Batman and whatever the hell was happening in Arkham. He would find out soon enough so he didn't protest.

Jason was relatively easy to find. He was sitting on a rooftop in the warehouse district, watching some men unloading crates. Nightwing landed soundlessly on the other side and walked over, instinctively placing his steps to avoid the random patches of loose gravel.

"Evening, Jaybird." Jason jerked up from where he crouched on the lip of the warehouse. He glared viciously at the man who was technically his older brother.

"Fuck!" He snapped as he fell into a ready stance. If Nightwing wanted to fight then Red Hood was more than willing to oblige. "How about some fucking warning? How hard is it to make some noise?" Nightwing stared at him impassively. His arms were crossed over his chest. Jason really wished that didn't make him feel like he was fourteen again and had just been caught sneaking back into the manor after curfew.

"What!?" he finally growled when it did not appear the normally talkative man would break first.

"I think someone hurt Robin." Jason stared at him blankly. Was he supposed to care?

"Yeah, so? Little replacement probably had it coming."

Nightwing sighed. He reached up and removed his mask. Reflexively Jason looked around the rooftop. They were alone. Of course they were. This random visit just made him a little on edge. Well, he would not be taking off his helmet, no matter what Dick chose to do. Silently he cursed. Now it was impossible to think of the man before him as Nightwing. It could only be Dick looking at him with eyes that blue.

"Let me rephrase," and here a tiny, sad smile curled the corners of Dick mouth, "Someone other than you hurt your little brother."

Thankful that Dick could not see his sudden scowl behind the helmet, Jason shrugged.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

But it appeared Dick did not need to see his troubled expression. The tiny smile was ever so slightly larger. Jason's glare deepened.

"Help me save him."

"Why?"

Dick took a deep breath, but his answer was automatic, "Because, even if you don't like us, we're still the only family you've got and family looks out for one another." Jason wanted to hit him then and there for spew such trite platitudes. But the rub of it all was that Dick actually believed all that crap.

So, instead of physically attacking, Jason readied his words.

"When's the last time any of you looked out for me? Where were you when the Joker walked free after killing me?" He hurled the familiar accusations, knowing they stung no less for the repetition. This time, however, he received a response he was not expecting.

"Jay, I wasn't even on planet when you died. I- I didn't know until almost three months later. When I got back…." Dick paused breathing in shaky bursts and for the first time Jason thought his death might have actually affected the older man the way the acrobat was always insisting it did. "You know Bruce never even told me? I mean it's not like we were talking at the time, but he could have called; left me a note. Hell, Morse code would have worked." He stared at the ground. "I only found out by accident." A long minute of silence passed between the two men. Dick reached up and rubbed the back of his neck almost sheepishly. "I tried to kill him. Joker, I mean, not Bruce. Though I did punch Bruce the next time I saw him. No, I hunted the damn clown down and beat him halfway to hell."

Jason could only stare. This was a facet of Dick he had never seen before. The Golden Boy had a dark side? Who knew…. Finally he found his voice.

"So?" Jason snapped, "Why didn't you finish the job? All that proves is you drunk the Batman kool-aid."

"Because, death would be too eas-"

"Too easy, once you go down that road blah blah blah! I heard it all from the old man right before your city got fried." Jason's fist clenched as he remembered Bruce's refusal to act that night.

Dick flinched away violently. He eyes roamed the familiar contours of Gotham, unable to rest on anything and Jason felt that he might have gone too far. Dick still had a small scar on his neck that Jason knew was from the chemicals when the older hero reentered the city to try and save the people who were already beyond help. He opened his mouth to apologize but Dick spoke first.

"No!" The word exploded from him. "Death would be too easy for him. He wants one of us to do it, to kill him and I don't want to give him what he wants!" He panted, as if those words had been bottled up for too long.

Jason's eyes widened, he had never thought of it like that. Bruce's inaction still ached like an open wound but Dick's…Suddenly he found he didn't hate his older brother quite so much.

"Oh," was all he managed to say.

Dick didn't appear to hear him. He scrubbed one hand up his face, "Look, I don't care if you try to kill us later tonight, but I need help and you're the only one nearby who I trust to do this right. Please, Jay, don't make me lose another brother."

"Okay." As soon as the word slipped from his mouth Jason wanted to take it back. But, as Dick tried to convince him further he decided it might be fun to have them owe him a favor.

"I'll even talk to Gordon about amnesty- What?"

"I said okay. I'll help you save the little punk. No one messes with my baby bro but me."

Dick whooped and grabbed Jason about the neck in a tight embrace. "Good," he laughed, dancing away before Jason could recover and hit him. "Let's go."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Jason growled to himself as the two young men leapt from the side of the building. Despite his words, however, he felt nothing but a sense of determination. He really would kill those who thought they could get away with hurting Family. An older brother with an overgrown conscience wasn't going to stop him either.

* * *

"You know I'm gonna kill them, right?" Red Hood said as the police station came into view across the water. The BatSub slipped silently through the bay towards the edge of the Arkham City complex. Alfred had told them that Tim considered and dismissed multiple methods of entering the city before deciding on the glider. Nightwing appreciated the kid's choice to fly, given the option that would always be his choice. However, since Robin made it into the complex Dr. Strange had announced that the skies were being patrolled and anyone attempting to bring aid to prisoners would be shot down without warning. It was easier to simply infiltrate by water rather than attempt to avoid patrols and still possibly be sighted by the denizens of the city. They did not want to give the people who had hurt Tim any warning that they were coming.

Nightwing nodded once. "If they've really hurt him, do you really think I'd stop you?"

Red Hood thought back to what he had just learned on the rooftop; Nightwing had tried to kill the Joker, it still made his entire world view rock around him. With that thought in mind, he shook his head. No, there would be no argument from Nightwing about his weapons of choice.

"Besides," Nightwing continued as he clicked through the commands to set the autopilot so the sub would leave them and go back to the cave on its own, "I was a cop."

That was news to Jason.

"The big bad Bat allowed that?"

They stood up in unison as soon as the canopy pulled back enough. Jason was suddenly very grateful for the full face helmet which kept the frigid breeze he could already feel biting at his wrists (the only uncovered parts of his body). Nightwing, in his form-fitting uniform with no face covering or thermal layering, would be miserable very soon. Especially since the wind was whipping up droplets of water from the waves onto them.

Nightwing sent a smirk his way, "You really think he can stop me from doing something?" He pulled his grapnel gun from its compartment on his glove. "We didn't talk for about a year after I joined the force before he pulled his head out of his ass."

"He actually changed his mind about you carrying a gun? That sonova-" Nightwing cut him off with a sharp motion.

"No, he really didn't. I got shot on duty. It was…. serious. He realized what an ass he'd been. I'm pretty sure that Agent A had a large part in that though. After that he just stopped mentioning it. I never took them into the manor anyway, so that might have made it easier for him to pretend I didn't carry. "

Jason snorted, even as estranged from the family as he was he knew better than to cross Alfred, especially when one of them had been hurt.

"Anyhow, he doesn't have anything to be upset about anymore. I turned my gun in with the badge."

Jason wanted to know why. Being a cop was obviously something Dick cared greatly about if he had been willing to cut ties with Bruce to continue to do it. But, he also greatly wanted to distance himself from anything having to do with the Bats. So, instead of asking the questions he desperately wanted to, he stayed silent and followed as Nightwing leapt off the roof. The cold air curled its fingers into the gaps he never knew existed in his costume and he struggled to fight off the feeling that nothing would be the same after the events of this night.

* * *

It occurred to him when he next awoke that he wasn't quite sure who he was. He knew it was important that he remembered that, though he didn't know why. He had this weird feeling that he would be remembering multiple 'whos' when the knowledge did show up. He was quite sure that most people did not have multiple whos. Maybe he was crazy? Somehow the thought that he was crazy felt repulsive. Maybe he knew a crazy person? The thought was mildly alarming but he did not have the energy to really freak out, besides he still had no idea who he was….

The darkness rose back up to swallow him whole, multiple whos and all.

* * *

Nightwing and Red Hood made their way to the radio broadcast tower, ostensibly to gain a lay of the land, but also because it seemed the further away from the water they got the warmer it became. Jason was not concerned about the cold affecting his own performance, and he didn't _really_ think it would affect Dick, but it was hard not to be grateful when he noticed how much smoother the older man's flips became as the temperature increased even a few degrees. Of course, that gratefulness was purely selfish, he told himself, he had no desire to get himself killed saving the replacement and Dick was far more useful if he could move properly. He forcibly suppressed the strange feeling rising in his chest as they ran across the rooftops together. It was far too close to the feeling of 'right' that he had felt so many years ago when he was still Robin and Nightwing would show up to take him out for a patrol. He did not want that feeling back; that feeling made him weak and young and far too soft. He hated it.

"The last I heard of Robin," Nightwing said when they had reached the tower, "He had just saved Batman's ass from a pack of ninjas. Mostly likely followers of Ra's or Talia."

Jason tilted his head to look up at where the older man had perched on a cross-beam of the broadcasting array.

"You could have mentioned the fucking ninjas when you messed up my stakeout," he grumbled without rancor.

Nightwing shrugged, "Eh, didn't seem important at the time. Anyhoo, Agent A pulled up the tracking data on Batman's suit and he disappeared somewhere over by the old Sionis Mill," he gestured wildly to their left. Jason looked over and could not suppress a shudder at the bright lights and fait tinkle of circus-style music. There was no doubt about where the Joker and Harley Quinn had set up camp. Jason sincerely hoped they would not be going over there, he was not mentally prepared to be facing the Joker.

"I'm willing to bet Mr. Freeze is somewhere behind us," Nightwing went on.

Jason nodded, "The police station was covered in ice and none of the nearby buildings were."

"Yeah, but I don't really think he would attack Robin," Nightwing mused. He sounded as if he were working through a thorny problem.

"He's probably using the old forensics equipment to try and save his wife," Jason agreed, "Capturing the rep- I mean Robin wouldn't really help him unless he wants the kid to help him in which case we'd be able to raise him on the radio. I assume you can't do that, you wouldn't be in full mother hen mode if you could…."

Nightwing nodded, "All I can get is static and his GPS tracker just winked out right after he and Batman split ways."

"I hate myself for even asking this," Jason forced himself to say, "But, have you tried raising Batman?"

Nightwing nodded, "He told Agent A he was going into the old Wonder City ruins and then the GPS signal was lost."

"Damn."

Nightwing nodded, "Yeah, I really wish he had waited like five minutes. I was busy clearing the manor of some uninvited guests-"

"They went for Alfred?" In his alarm Jason forgot to use the coded moniker for the older gentleman.

Nightwing nodded gravely, "Yeah, someone, I'm guessing Strange, sent about forty Tyger guards to the manor. Agent A is totally fine. I took care of them."

Jason felt a small amount of the old hero-worship rise in him. Forty men and he was still not only able to move but to flip and tumble with the same energy and grace as normal. It was almost unbelievable.

"Are you-?" he couldn't quite bring himself to complete the query about the older man's health. But, the completion was not necessary. Nightwing grinned down at him from his perch.

"I'm fine too, a few cuts from all of the damn swords in the armory, but nothing to worry your little helmeted head about."

"Yeah, I was _totally_ worried about your manicure, asshat," Jason snapped, annoyed at being caught out caring, "No, I was going to ask if you were planning on doing anything about that." He gestured to the large group of prisoners surrounding a man in a suit. The prisoners were shouting abused and brandishing weapons.

Dick grinned.

"Ready to have some fun?"

For once, Jason felt like they were entirely on the same page; nothing sounded more fun at the moment than beating up a bunch of thugs.

"After you."

A/N: So, obviously not complete. But, I wanted to post something tonight. Next chapter coming after I post a few chapters of Who We Were.


End file.
